"Good mooooorning, Ash!"

Ash grumbled and stirred, eyes opening and immediately closing again at the painful light flooding into the bedroom. After a moment, he squinted and looked toward the door, where his eyes took in the silhouette of a familiar female figure, framed by the light of the hallway outside. The girl standing in the doorframe had a large tray in her hands, and an unnaturally sweet smile on her face.

"Mmph… Iris?" he mumbled. "What's going on?"

"I just thought you might enjoy some breakfast in bed, that's all." Iris stepped inside, kicking the door closed behind her with her foot, as Ash sat up in bed. "You've earned it after the battle against Olympia you had the other day."

"Oh, uh… thanks, I guess…" Ash was befuddled, to say the least, as Iris slid the tray onto his lap, before sitting sideways on the bed next to him. His eyes ran over the tray, which was piled high with pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast.

"Of course!" she responded cheerfully. "Anything for my best friend in the whole world." Her voice sounded strained and unnatural, as if she had never tried speaking to someone this way before. It rang insincere, and left an impression like a carnivorous plant trying to lure a fly into its maw.

"Right…" Ash picked up the knife and fork that had been placed on either side of the tray, looking over the bounty before him, trying to decide what to dig into first. Iris leaned in closer, inches away from him.

"I thought that we could go out and have a Pokémon battle later, when you're feeling like it," she continued. "We could have a proper rematch with a full team, not just a one-on-one like before. I bet it would be good training for Athena's gym, too. That sounds like fun, right?"

Ash sighed and put the silverware back down, unable to bear any more of this. "You're really bad at this whole 'buttering up' thing, you know."

Iris's pleasant demeanor instantly dissolved away, as if a switch had been flipped inside her. "And you're really bad at being generous with your friends!" she snapped, her voice filled with bitterness and venom.

He rolled his eyes, tired of having this same conversation again. "I can't just give you a Tyrunt, Iris."

"Sure you could! Nobody's stopping you!" she insisted. "You're already going to have one fossil Pokémon! Why do you need a second one? Why can't you share?"

"You don't just 'share' some of the rarest Pokémon on the planet! They're not like a bag of chips!"

"You are being so bullheaded about this!" Iris glowered at him, her enraged eyes on his. "That Tyrunt would mean everything in the world to me! It's just another Pokémon for you! You're just being greedy!"

"Don't tell me I wouldn't care about a Pokémon!" Ash shot back. "I earned those fossils fair and square! You tried to get them, and you lost!"

"Guys!" Both of them jumped as Brock's sharp voice cut through the air, from the bunk above Ash's. "It is way too early o'clock in the morning for this, so could you either shut up or leave?!"

Ash nodded meekly, suddenly sheepish. "Sorry, Brock…" He turned back to his meal, reaching once again for his silverware, but Iris reached out and snatched the tray away from him before he could get a single bite. She huffed and stood up, turning back toward the door and throwing it open before storming out, not bothering to shut it again.

He groaned and slowly slid back into his bunk. There wasn't much chance of him getting back to sleep now. From the sounds of stirring and shifting all around him, it seemed like nobody else was getting back to sleep, either.

"Are you two seriously still going at it?" Madison groused sleepily.

"She's the only one going at it!" Ash insisted. "She's trying to get a free Pokémon out of me!"

"I knew that Tyrunt meant a lot to her, but I didn't know she'd be this unbearable about it…" Serena rubbed her eye as she sat up. "You don't owe her any Pokémon, Ash. You won them fair and square, like you said. But… it would be really generous of you if you would think about it, you know…"

Ash rolled over in his bed, his body still rebelling against the morning. "If it were something like a Beedrill, sure. But a Tyrunt? Do you know how many of those there are?"

She shook her head. "No. How many are there?"

"Oh, uh…" He paused for a moment, his face blank. "I don't know either, but the point is it's not a lot."

"If there are a hundred Tyrunt and Tyrantrum around the world, I'd be surprised," Brock contributed helpfully, resigned to his fate of an early awakening. "Even among fossil Pokémon, they're pretty uncommon."

"Hm." Serena was torn between wanting to be fair to Ash, wanting to keep the peace, and being altogether too tired to maintain that balance. "I just hope this doesn't… ruin your friendship or anything."

"I doubt it," Ash replied. "We've had our problems before, but we're still friends. I'm sure everything will be fine." He paused, frowning. "At least, I think it will…"

The room was quiet for a moment, as Ash lost himself in his thoughts. He and Iris had fought before, over much more trivial matters, and their mutual stubbornness had nearly torn them apart before they swallowed their pride and made up. Fighting over something that was truly important to Iris might be too much for their friendship to bear. Would she ever forgive him for keeping one of her lifelong dreams just barely out of her reach?

"The Pokémon are arriving today, right?" Madison eventually spoke up.

"Yep, today. The fossil restoring guys said they finished yesterday morning." Ash's voice received a boost of energy at the reminder of the imminent arrivals. "Later today I'm going to have an Amaura and a Tyrunt! I can't wait!"

"Do you have space for them?" Brock asked, too exhausted to share in Ash's excitement. "You've got six of your own Pokémon with you already, don't you?"

"Oh, right." Ash abruptly sat up, sliding out of bed. "I gotta call Professor Oak and free up a couple of slots." He grabbed his bag and stepped out the door, making his way to the showers, as the other three travelers took their time waking up and facing the day.

"Ah, here they are! They've just arrived!"

On a video screen in the phone room of the Pokémon Center, Professor Oak re-emerged after a brief disappearance, holding a Poké Ball in each hand. "This will be my first real chance to study a Sigilyph! I'll have to keep a eye on it whenever I have the time."

"She's something else, for sure." Ash grinned into the screen. "Drapion might be a bit scary to the other Pokémon at first, but he's a real softy on the inside. I know they'll all get along once they get to know him."

"Trust me, the Corral has handled far worse than a Drapion." Oak chuckled to himself. "Anyway, you had better send over Tyrunt and Amaura as soon as you can, understand? Watching fossil Pokémon socialize is always fascinating. And studying their diet will help me piece together a more complete picture of the long-term evolutionary chain."

"I will, don't worry!" Ash paused, preparing to say his goodbyes as his friends walked into the phone room, having finished breakfast. Before he could wrap up the call, a stray thought entered his head. "Oh! How is Torkoal doing?"

"He's just fine, as always," Oak reassured the boy. "Sleeping, eating, playing with the other Pokémon, and sleeping some more. He's as happy as a Clamperl. I've had Tracey add more vitamins into his food, to keep him in good health."

"Thanks a lot, Professor." Ash glanced briefly back at his friends, before returning his attention to the call. "I gotta go. Thanks again for looking after those two."

"Of course, of course," Prof. Oak answered with a soft smile. "They'll be right at home here. You don't have to worry about a thing. Good luck with the Kalos League!"

As Ash said his goodbyes and ended the call, he heard a gentle pair of footsteps approaching from behind, followed by a gentle female voice. "Who is Torkoal?"

Ash spun around in his chair, looking up to meet Serena's eyes. "He's one of the Pokémon that I caught on my first trip through Hoenn. A good fighter… kind of emotional."

She nodded. "Why did you ask Professor Oak about him? Is he sick?"

"Nah, he's just old." Ash answered. "He's a lot older than we thought he was when I caught him. His battling days are pretty much behind him, so he just stays at Professor Oak's place, eating and sleeping and playing. We like to say he's retired."

"It sounds like he's living the life," Madison chimed in, standing between Brock and Serena.

He shrugged in response. "I guess so. I know if I were a Pokémon, I'd rather be battling." He stood up, stretching his arms. "So what's everyone up to today? Have any of you seen Iris?"

Serena shook her head. "Not since this morning, no. I assumed she was off sulking somewhere in the city." Ash nodded, a bit of a frown on his face. He wasn't eager to see her at the moment, but he would like to know that she was alright, at least.

"I'll probably explore the city for a while," Brock chimed in. "I'm interested in seeing the Sundial. I hear it's a pretty important Kalos landmark."

"I'm going to be practicing with my Pokémon for the next showcase," Madison followed up. "I'll be doing what I can without Barrett there. Every little bit helps."

"It definitely does," Serena agreed. "I'm going to be spending some time baking, here in the Pokémon Center kitchen. I'm going to whip up some more Poké Puffs, and maybe some things for us, too."

"Oh, great!" Ash smiled at her. "Mind if I help?"

She started a bit, surprised. "Um, sure, it's fine. How come, though?"

He shrugged back. "Just seemed like it would be fun. And I bet I could learn a lot about baking, too."

Her smile grew easily across her face. "Sure, Ash! I've always thought baking was fun. And it will be nice to have a helping hand."

"Great!" he reiterated, excited at the idea of spending more time with Serena. "Should we start now?"

"In just a bit," she answered, stepping past him. "I need to make a call of my own, real quick."

"Who are you calling?" Madison asked, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, nobody important," Serena responded cryptically, as she took a seat in front of the video phone.

Ash smirked down at her. "You not calling anyone about a birthday surprise or anything, are you?"

She glanced sideways at him, offering her own smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She used her hand to shoo the rest of them away, wanting some privacy.

He chuckled and stepped away, walking back toward the lobby with the other two, certain that she had some birthday-related plans in mind. His sixteenth birthday was a week and a half away, though Madison would be turning eleven even sooner than that, in just a few days. Serena's birthday was next, as she would turn sixteen about two months after Ash, while Brock and Iris's own celebrations were quite a ways off. For all of Iris's talk about Ash being a "little kid", he had been incredulous to discover that she was nearly eight months younger than he was. Iris, naturally, was unrepentant.

As the trio walked into the lobby, Ash took a seat and pulled out his Pokédex to study it, with Pikachu resting on the arm of the large, comfortable chair. Madison and Brock continued out the door, before turning and walking off in opposite directions.

One hour later, Serena and Ash were both hard at work in the kitchen that was available for the Pokémon Center guests, both of them wearing aprons over their normal attire. Ash had resisted the apron at first, but after the second time he had spilled flour onto his clothes, he had relented and put his on, if only to prevent Serena from rolling her eyes at him again.

"Okay, so next is… um…" Ash stared down at his large bowl of dry, powdery ingredients, trying to remember what they had done in the first batch of Poké Puffs. Next to him, Serena was effortlessly cracking eggs into a bowl of wet ingredients, using only one hand. Pikachu was sitting on a corner of the large kitchen island where they were working, watching curiously and waiting patiently for his opportunity to have a Poké Puff for himself.

"One and a half cups of flour," she prompted, staying focused on her own bowl.

"Right." Ash reached for the bag of flour off to his right, grabbing it carefully in both hands and tipping it toward the bowl. Before he could actually pour any flour, he jumped as a wooden spatula smacked into the side of the bag, causing him to nearly drop it.

"No," Serena reprimanded sharply, barely even looking in his direction. "Never freehand. Always measure out your ingredients."

He quickly reached for a measuring cup. "Brock freehands stuff all the time when he's cooking…" He dutifully scooped out one cup of flour, remembering to brush the excess off the top, one of the few things he'd managed to retain from Serena's tutelage so far.

"Cooking is different from baking," she explained, as she picked up her bowl in one arm and started whisking the wet ingredients together. "Cooking is more forgiving, and you can fix mistakes more easily. Baking is a science. Too much or too little of one thing can cause everything to fall apart."

He nodded, frowning as he added the flour into the bowl. "I was never that great with science…" He briefly stirred the contents of his bowl with a fork, mixing the flour together with the sugar and baking soda.

"It's not that bad, really." Serena placed the bowl back down, examining her apron, happy to see it spill-free so far. "There are just a few rules you always need to keep in mind. Always measure your ingredients… mix your dry ingredients into your wets… that sort of thing." She pushed her bowl toward him. "Speaking of which…"

He nodded, lifting up his bowl and tilting it slowly. The first bunch of dry ingredients came out in one large chunk, splashing into the second bowl and kicking up a cloud of flour that coated both their faces. She held in a sneeze, stirring the ingredients together as Ash added in the contents of his bowl, bit by bit. Once all of the ingredients were combined, Ash set his bowl aside and watched as Serena mixed the concoction to the right consistency.

"There we go," she said, with a smile that could be seen on her face and heard in her voice. "It looks exactly how it's supposed to look. Now we just pour it into the tins." She grasped two large spoons resting on the counter and handed one to Ash, starting to grab large spoonfuls of the runny Poké Puff batter and pour them into a set of tin molds.

Ash followed her lead, carefully spooning the batter into some of the molds, trying to match the exact quantity that Serena was using for each puff. "I didn't think this was going to be as tricky as it was," he commented, dripping some excess batter onto the tin. "I thought I was doing everything right, but you kept telling me I had screwed up somehow."

Serena grinned. "Well, for someone who hasn't done this before, you weren't terrible," she offered. "But I'm not sure that rigidly following instructions is really your style."

"You're right about that," he conceded. "For me, it's usually just… like, with battles, I study the Pokédex for moves and type advantages and stuff, but in the end I just do what feels right, you know?" He set his serving spoon down on the counter, and Pikachu scampered over to lick off some of the excess batter.

She giggled lightly, as she finished filling the final tin. "That's you to a T, Ash." She stepped away to grab a nearby washcloth, wiping the excess flour off of her face. "You've got great instincts for a lot of things, but baking isn't one of them." She tossed the washcloth over to Ash, who caught it easily with one hand.

"Mmph… I guess." He cleaned off his own face, missing several spots on his forehead and jawline. "So those are going in the oven now?"

"Mhmm." She grabbed the tin with one hand, opening up a preheated oven with the other. "And the first batch is coming out. Once those Poké Puffs cool, then we decorate." She gently slid the puff tin into the oven and closed it up, before opening an adjacent oven and pulling out a set of perfectly baked puffs using an oven mitt.

"Sounds good to me," Ash responded. "Maybe I'll do a better job of decorating them."

Serena firmly bit her tongue, not about to reveal her lack of faith in his artistic abilities, and pasted a smile onto her face instead. "Maybe you-"

Her comment was interrupted by a crashing sound from outside the window. All three of the kitchen occupants turned toward the noise, as an older woman's voice rang out. "You miserable little rat! Get back here!"

Ash raced over to the window, throwing it open and peering outside, as Pikachu climbed up onto the windowsill. He was looking out over some sort of open-air market, where over a dozen vendors had set up stalls, selling fruit, produce, trinkets and more. One stall across the road from the Pokémon Center had multiple signs knocked over, and much of its inventory of berries on the ground. The stall owner, a brown-haired heavyset woman with fire in her eyes, was running out into the street with a blue-and-white, squirrel-like Pokémon by her side.

Ash followed her gaze down the road, spotting a bipedal, yellow, ferret-like Pokémon with red accents on its arms, legs and tail. The creature was glaring back tauntingly at the stall owner, unfazed by her anger, while holding several berries in its arms. Ash's eyebrows raised as he immediately recognized the Pokémon as a Mienfoo, a Fighting-type that Korrina had used in battle against Ash years ago.

"You're not getting away this time!" The owner of the stall pointed forward toward the thieving Mienfoo. "Pachirisu, use Discharge!"

Her Pokémon's cheeks began to spark with electricity, before an arc of it shot out of the creature's body, toward the escaping berry thief. Mienfoo dashed to the side with impressive speed, dodging the electricity with ease. In one smooth motion, the Pokémon reached down to grab a rock off the ground and flung it directly at its attacker. The rock struck Pachirisu square between the eyes, knocking it onto its back. The stall owner yelled out in incomprehensible rage, as Mienfoo turned and ran off with its plunder of berries.

"Wow, what's with that Mienfoo?" Ash asked aloud to nobody in particular, a hint of wonder in his voice. The merchant immediately to the right of the window spoke up to answer.

"She's been causing trouble for us for months," the older man replied. "She's always coming by the stalls, or sneaking into the stores, to steal food and berries and whatnot."

"Does she have a trainer?" Ash inquired, gears turning and plans forming in his head.

"I don't know if she did before, but she doesn't now. Plenty of trainers have tried to catch her, but she's too slick and too strong for them."

Ash was already grinning wide before the man had finished speaking. He could see both the challenge and the reward that would come from catching and training a stubborn but powerful Pokémon, and he was already determined to add her to his team. Recruiting Mienfoo on top of the Tyrunt and Amaura he was receiving later may have been excessive - and he would have to think of another Pokémon from his team to send to Professor Oak - but he was never one to pass up a golden opportunity like this.

"Well, she's never met me before!" he boasted. "Let's get out there, Pikachu!" He quickly pivoted toward the door, pausing as his eyes met Serena's, having nearly forgotten she was there. "Oh… um…"

She gave him an understanding smile. "Go ahead, Ash. I'll take care of the rest of these. It's no problem."

"Thanks, Serena!" He dashed to the door, giving her hand a quick squeeze as he ran by, with Pikachu following after him. She watched him toss his apron aside as he ran out the door, skidding around a corner in his haste to intercept the Mienfoo, before she turned back to the counter and got started on a third batch of batter, grinning and humming to herself. It had been fun baking alongside Ash, but this was definitely going to go faster without him.

In an alley several blocks away, Mienfoo was gorging on her stolen berries, filling her empty belly to bursting. A handful of Murkrow were watching from afar, hoping for an opportunity to nab some food from themselves, but one glare from Mienfoo sent them scattering. The wild Pokémon of Anistar City had learned not to tangle with this berry thief.

"There you are!" Mienfoo jumped up and whirled around, spotting Ash at the entrance to the alley, with Pikachu on his shoulder and Growlithe at his feet, yipping triumphantly. She eyed him with clear suspicion, already having a good idea of what he wanted. She'd dealt with enough ambitious trainers over the past few months.

"The people here told me that you're really strong," Ash continued. "And you had some good moves earlier, at the market. You're just the kind of Pokémon I'd love to add to my team."

Mienfoo glared at him for a moment, giving the idea the barest amount of consideration, before giving her nonverbal answer. She tucked her last remaining Oran Berry under her left arm before charging forward at high speed, looking to escape.

Ash grinned excitedly, ready to test this wild Pokémon in battle. "Growlithe, use Ember!"

The Puppy Pokémon yipped before spitting out a small fireball in Mienfoo's direction. The wild Pokémon leaped away with ease, kicking off the wall of the alley and launching herself into Growlithe's side with a powerful tackle. Growlithe yelped, skidding along the ground and slamming into the alley wall, crumpling for a moment before she could get back on her feet. Mienfoo continued forward, undeterred.

"Holy cow!" Ash turned toward his partner on his shoulder. "Pikachu, stop her with Iron Tail, quick!"

Pikachu leaped down to the ground, racing toward Mienfoo as his tail became as hard as iron. Once he was close enough, he leaped into the air and spun around, swinging his tail horizontally toward Mienfoo's head. The wild Pokémon bent backward and slid forward on her knees, ducking underneath the tail as if it were a limbo stick. She sprang forward again and slammed her glowing Force Palm into Pikachu's torso, knocking him away.

Ash's eyes widened as he saw Pikachu flying back toward him, reaching out and catching the Pokémon projectile in his arms. He only had a moment to look back and react as Mienfoo leaped into the air, throwing a fistful of dirt and sand into his face. He instantly shut his eyes, able to block the dirt from getting in, but he coughed as the improvised attack found its way into his nose and mouth. An instant later, he was knocked onto his back, coughing a second time as Mienfoo landed on his chest before leaping off again. He opened his eyes and watched the Pokémon escape down the street, still carrying her stolen Oran Berry in her arms.

Even as he groaned and coughed, he couldn't help but be amazed at what he'd seen. Mienfoo's strength was average for an un-evolved Fighting-type Pokémon, but her speed and evasiveness were spectacular. It was no wonder no trainers had managed to catch her so far; they probably hadn't been able to lay a finger on her. As he watched her turn a corner and disappear again, however, he wondered if he was going to have any better luck.

"Ash! Are you okay?" He turned his head in the other direction as a familiar female voice spoke to him, eyes lighting up at the sight of the purple-haired girl kneeling next to him.

"Iris!" Ash propped himself up onto one elbow, as Pikachu sat up on his chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just walking through town, when I saw that Mienfoo cleaning your clock."

He grumbled and looked down. "She took me by surprise, that's all…"

She reached out and brushed some dirt off of his face, along with some excess flour. "Did she try baking you into a cake or something? You're covered in flour."

"No, that's from… never mind." Ash wiped his sleeve against his face, cleaning off the rest of it, as Pikachu hopped off of him. "I need to track that Mienfoo down before she gets too far away."

Iris smirked and stood up next to him. "If she got past you so easily, it might take two of us to take her down."

He looked up at her with wide eyes, as the implication of her words sunk in. "Two of us…?" He was a bit taken aback, not expecting an offer like that after their brief fight this morning.

She grinned down at him, extending her hand to help him up. "Come on, Ash. Let's go catch that Mienfoo."

His face soon split into a matching grin, as he grasped her hand and she pulled him to his feet. Iris really was a true friend, through and through. He could barely imagine what he had been so worried about before.

Ash, Iris and Pikachu all turned and ran down the sidewalk, following Growlithe as she pursued Mienfoo's scent through downtown Anistar City.

Growlithe's nose soon led them to a park four blocks away. She ran up to a tree and pawed at it with both paws, barking loudly and repeatedly. Up among the tree's branches, Mienfoo sat up from her lying position on a rather thick and sturdy branch, looking down at the ground below with irritation. Ash and Pikachu were running up to her chosen tree, with Iris and her Excadrill lagging behind, as Ash returned Growlithe to her Poké Ball. Grumbling, Mienfoo quickly hopped up to her feet, and began leaping from one branch to the next.

"Excadrill, use Focus Blast!" Iris commanded. Her Pokémon stood still for a moment, forming an energy ball in his hands in a little less than a second. He flung it upward at the retreating Mienfoo, who jumped away from it without a second thought. As she flew in the air toward the next branch, she was unable to evade the Thunderbolt that Pikachu sent her way, and she crashed into the next branch instead of landing on it. She hung gracelessly with both arms from the branch, which bowed slightly under her weight.

"Pikachu, smack the tree with Iron Tail! Knock her out of it!" Ash called out. Pikachu leaped at the tree, his tail hard as iron, ready to swing. Mienfoo grunted and pulled down on the branch as hard as she could, snapping it off at the base and sending her plummeting to the ground. By the time Pikachu struck the tree, Mienfoo was already on her way down, with the branch still in her hands. She swung it down like a baseball bat, slamming it into Pikachu's head and snapping it in half. Pikachu cried out in pain, swatted down to the ground by the branch and dazed by the impact, needing a few moments before he could get back up.

"Wow, this thing…" Iris mumbled under her breath, before speaking up again. "Use Fury Swipes!"

Her Excadrill rushed forward, claws on both paws extended, and began swiping furiously at the Fighting-type Pokémon. Mienfoo's eyes glowed blue as she dodged, ducked under, and leaped over one attack after another, a clear sign of Detect. After dodging a dozen swipes, she swung the broken branch into Excadrill's claw, splintering it into pieces and briefly distracting Iris's Pokémon. Mienfoo took advantage of the moment to dash forward and thrust a Force Palm into Excadrill's gut. The force of the attack knocked Excadrill onto his back, more inconvenienced than injured.

"Excadrill, go underground!" Iris ordered. Her Pokémon responded quickly, closing up and forming a drill before burrowing underground. Mienfoo started to dash away, seeing an opportunity to escape, but a second Thunderbolt from a recovered Pikachu wracked her body and dropped her to one knee. The momentary pause was just enough, and Excadrill emerged directly from underneath her, sending her flying into the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.

Mienfoo pushed herself back up, breathing hard as she looked back and forth between her two opponents. She wasn't very well-equipped to take hard hits, preferring to dodge them instead, and she knew one more strong attack could put her down for the count. Thinking quickly, she started throwing pieces of the broken branch at both of them, wanting to keep them off-balance so they couldn't counterattack. Pikachu dodged them easily, but Excadrill found himself pelted repeatedly, having to raise his claws to protect his eyes.

"Pikachu, get behind her and prepare Electroweb!" Pikachu obeyed his trainer's command, zipping around to cut off Mienfoo's escape. He stared her down as he began charging a ball of electricity on his tail, making it larger and larger, waiting for the command to throw it. Mienfoo stared right back, her breathing labored as she waited for the web to come out, prepared to dive through any opening in the web that she could.

"Now! Tunnel Attack!" Iris's voice rang out.

Mienfoo blinked and spun around, gasping as she saw Excadrill diving at her with his claws outstretched. She tried in vain to get away, but his claws grabbed firmly onto her, and the two Pokémon vanished underground. Pikachu stood up, the electricity on his tail dissipating, and he waited for the two to reemerge, along with Ash and Iris. A few seconds later, Mienfoo shot out of the ground with Excadrill right behind. She hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop, not even attempting to get back up, dazed and defeated.

"Yes! Now's my chance!" Ash reached down to his belt, grabbing one of the spare Poké Balls that he had on hand. He looked back up at the stunned Mienfoo and-

"Go, Poké Ball!"

Ash froze in place as a different capture device flew through the air, making a direct hit on Mienfoo's stomach. He nearly cried out in shock, looking to his right, where Iris still had her arm extended, her eyes locked on the wild Pokémon.

"What?! What are you doing?!" he demanded, receiving no answer. Both trainers watched as the wild Mienfoo was sucked into the ball, which dropped to the ground. With each twitch of the Poké Ball, Ash could feel his heart sinking further. Finally, the ball went still and emitted a quiet chime, and his heart fell into his stomach.

"Yes! We got it!" Iris pumped her fist into the air before running forward. "Great job, Excadrill!"

"Iris!" Ash shouted, confused and enraged. "What are you doing?! I thought you were helping me!"

"I'm catching Mienfoo!" she explained plainly, running over to Excadrill. "She's too good of a fighter to let go."

"That's not fair!" he shot back, running after her. "She was mine!"

"How do you figure?" she responded, brushing some dirt off of Excadrill with her hand. "It's not like your name was on her. We both fought her. And Excadrill did most of the damage, anyway." She returned her partner to his Poké Ball.

"Come on, Iris!" Ash was nearly despondent. "You know how much I wanted to catch that Pokémon!"

"Hm, is that so?" Iris kneeled down to pick up Mienfoo's Poké Ball. "Well, it seems to me that I have something you want…" She turned to him with a sly smile. "…And you have something I want."

Ash stared in dumb disbelief at Iris, feeling as if his head was going to explode. He tried and failed to form words for several long moments, as the full impact of Iris's scheme bore down on him, leaving him a strange mix of furious, impressed, and slightly intimidated. He had deeply underestimated her determination to get what she wanted, and he was slightly nervous about what that might mean for the future. He was fairly certain his eye was twitching.

He eventually let out a long, world-weary sigh, as he held his head in his hand. "Fine… fine, Iris, you win. Let's go back and- HRK!" His words were cut off as Iris threw her arms around him in a bone-crushing embrace.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squeezed him tightly, as excited as she'd ever been. "I can't tell you how much this means to me!" She let go of him, allowing him to breathe again, before grasping his hand and starting to run off. "Come on, let's go right now!"

"Iris!" he protested, as she began dragging him along. "The Tyrunt isn't even here yet!" He ran after her, trying to keep up, as Pikachu dashed after the both of them.

Later that afternoon, Ash and Iris were standing in front of a trade machine back at the Pokémon Center, waiting for it to finish warming up. The machine let out a beep to indicate its readiness, and Iris excitedly placed Mienfoo's Poké Ball in its container. Ash took out the Poké Ball that contained his brand-new Tyrunt, staring at it wistfully for a moment, before letting out a sigh and placing it in its container. At least he had been able to say hello to the fossil Pokémon, and register it to his Pokédex, before handing it over.

Both Ash and Iris stepped back as the machine began its work, standing next to their other three companions, who were watching the process with expressions ranging between amusement and resignation. All of them were surprised to hear how the argument had been resolved, especially when the finer details of Mienfoo's capture had come out. Serena in particular had been utterly exasperated by the resolution to their feud, but so long as the two of them were friendly again, she had decided to just let the matter drop. This had done little to get Iris back into Serena's good graces, however.

"Thank you so much for doing this, Ash," Iris reiterated for maybe the tenth time that day. "I know this isn't exactly a fair trade…"

"Yeah, but it's fine." Ash shrugged, having made his peace with this. "I probably wouldn't have caught Mienfoo without your help, anyway. And I know you'll appreciate Tyrunt a lot more than I would."

She reached out and gave his hand a grateful and loving squeeze. "You're the best friend I could ever ask for, Ash. I'll make this up to you somehow, I promise."

He smiled a genuine smile as he squeezed back. "Yeah, I know." He exhaled slowly as he watched the machine do its work, thankful that the two of them had managed to work out their differences, as difficult as it had been. He had to admit that Iris was one of the best friends he could ask for, as well. They didn't always see eye-to-eye, and they might have driven each other crazy plenty of times, but at the end of the day they meant too much to each other for them to drift apart, no matter the reason. He felt silly for thinking that something like a Pokémon could ever come between them.

Soon the machine emitted a satisfied beeping sound, signaling that the trade was complete, and Iris let out a noise close to a squeal, one that Ash had never heard from her before. She rushed over to her side of the machine and threw open the small door to the Poké Ball container, reaching in to grab the ball inside. She didn't hesitate in pressing the button on the front, wanting to see her new Pokémon for herself.

"Come on out, Tyrunt!" she declared excitedly, watching as a mass of red energy spilled out of the Poké Ball and onto the ground. It quickly took the shape of a short, bipedal, dinosaur-like creature, with a large head and a massive jaw. The creature had short but strong legs, small and weak arms, a spiky white mane around its neck, and a pair of orange horns atop its head.

"Hi there!" Iris kneeled down in front of the creature, a disbelieving smile on her face. "My name's Iris, and I've been waiting my whole life to meet you! I know we're going to be the best of friends!" She reached out and pet Tyrunt gently on top of its head. The Pokémon let out a high-pitched, reptilian cheer, and he leaned forward and clamped his powerful jaw affectionately onto Iris's arm.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Iris's smile gave way to an expression of sharp pain, as she shook her arm to try and dislodge her well-intentioned attacker. "Let go, let go!" Tyrunt quickly released her arm, cocking his head at her in confusion, as she held her sore arm gently.

"Well, this is what you wanted, Iris," Serena spoke up, unable to keep a taunting tone out of her voice. "Hope you're ready for it."

"Ngh… I've never been more ready for anything," Iris insisted, forcing a smile onto her face. Everyone watched as she reached out to scratch behind his ear, in a way that she knew almost all Dragon-types liked. The Tyrunt mewled and leaned into her touch, immediately relaxing enough to fall over onto her knee. She giggled and lifted the creature into her arms, grunting lightly at the weight, as she continued to scratch. The smile on her face was a smile of pure, unrestrained joy, the kind of smile that people only show a handful of times in their lives.

"Come on, you. Let's find out what sort of food you like to eat." She turned and walked back into the Pokémon Center lobby, and the other four followed her out, all of them a little touched at the sight of Iris's dream coming true.